ODD or Opisitional Defiant Disorder as the therapist calls it. Is one of the most infuriating Disorders a child can have. It makes life as a parent very difficult at times.

Have you ever lived with someone who no matter what you have to say...challenges you and tells you are wrong and it is exact opposite of what you say?

You can handle it for a few hours, tolerate it for a few days...but it is a living hell when you have to put up with it 24/7 ...365 days a year.

If your child suffers from this disorder then you know what I mean. I adopted two children who suffer from this disorder. Both of them at the same time could drive a Priest up a wall. More or less a parent.

You have to constantly remind yourself that they are not doing this behavior on purpose. But, rather they have an illness that causes them to challenge each and every word you say.

It gets a bit much when you are in a doctors office with them and you are trying to explain to the doctor why you have your child there in the office...When at each and every step of explaining to them is rebutted by the child.

More than a few times I have felt like crying and felt that I needed therapy myself to help me live through raising my children. Just because they challenged me every step of the way each, and every day.

When this disorder really kicks in. It comes with loud voices and anger. They will tell you that the sky is falling and actually think what they are saying is true.

It often accompanies the fact that after they calm down they do not remember a bit of what the issue was or why they were upset. As a parent you learn to let them just run with it and let out the bottled up steam. As long as they are doing it in a harmless way.

With my daughter we lived by the one magic rule she told us one day. "If I do not remember it...It never happened." So when talking to her therapist we often chose to go in alone before or after her sessions so we could cut down on the ODD moments and keep life simple and coherent for us as parents and for the therapists sake.

Anybody out there with any good ideas on how to keep life simple for parents with children who have displayed the ODD behaviors? I know a few rules of the road here. I'd love to hear from other parents who still have hair left or less wrinkles than I have.... (smile) All comments are welcome.